There's a $100 bass challenge thread that came up recently. All the rules have not been finalized, but I'm going to go ahead and start a thread for my build. At first, I wasn't really wanting to participate as I really don't want to put a lot of time and effort into a bass that wouldn't be very good. I just thought that too many corners would have to be cut to make a bass for $100.00. But then, my husband made reservations for the Phoenix Comicon, which is coming up at the end of May. We go every year.
For the past couple of years, I had thought it would be pretty cool to go to the Comicon as Marceline, the bass playing vampire from the animated series Adventure Time.
The series has gained a lot of popularity over the past several years, and she is a popular character there. However, of the 20 or 30 Marlines at the Phoenix Comicon, none of them use an actual (or is that axe -ual) bass. They're all props. I thought it would be cool to have a real bass as a prop. I also thought I could make a battery operated amp to play it through while walking the floor. But that's a subject for another thread.
So I started doing a little research, and found I was able to buy a Fender/Squier bridge, Gotoh style tuners, and an inexpensive set of Jazz pickups for under $40.00 shipped. I placed the order.
While we were out and about later that day, I saw we were just a few blocks from the wood store, so we stopped by and saw this:
6 board feet of genuine mahogany for $24.00. A little less with my 10% rosewood club membership (which basically covers the sales tax). That should be enough for the entire neck and body, with some left over.
I spent a little time in Adobe Illustrator this morning putting together a design.
I can't really go any further until I receive the parts from Amazon, which seem to be scheduled for delivery early this week.
The specs are as follows:
4 strings
30" scale to help prevent severe neck dive, and for greater maneuverability on the Comicon floor
Fretless per the original design (and to help keep costs down)
Mahogany neck and body
Neck-through design
Jazz bass style pickups
Per the original design (and stuff in the parts draw) 2 knobs, maybe volume and blend?
Enamel red/maroon rattle can finish (Rustolium?)
I still have to order a truss rod ($16.00 at Best Bass Gear) and I'll need to figure out what to do about the lower strap lock. It seems to be some kind of spike.
We currently have a few home projects going on right now, including enclosing the car port (resulting in an enclosed, air conditioned shop area for me, yay!). So work may be slow for a few weeks, but I need to have this done by May if I want to use it this year at the Comicon. Whether or not the $100 bass challenge comes together, I'll be moving forward on this for my costume.
So anyway, current build cost:
Tuners, bridge, pickups = $37.90
wood = $24.00
I'll post progress and costs as I move forward.
For the past couple of years, I had thought it would be pretty cool to go to the Comicon as Marceline, the bass playing vampire from the animated series Adventure Time.
The series has gained a lot of popularity over the past several years, and she is a popular character there. However, of the 20 or 30 Marlines at the Phoenix Comicon, none of them use an actual (or is that axe -ual) bass. They're all props. I thought it would be cool to have a real bass as a prop. I also thought I could make a battery operated amp to play it through while walking the floor. But that's a subject for another thread.
So I started doing a little research, and found I was able to buy a Fender/Squier bridge, Gotoh style tuners, and an inexpensive set of Jazz pickups for under $40.00 shipped. I placed the order.
While we were out and about later that day, I saw we were just a few blocks from the wood store, so we stopped by and saw this:
6 board feet of genuine mahogany for $24.00. A little less with my 10% rosewood club membership (which basically covers the sales tax). That should be enough for the entire neck and body, with some left over.
I spent a little time in Adobe Illustrator this morning putting together a design.
I can't really go any further until I receive the parts from Amazon, which seem to be scheduled for delivery early this week.
The specs are as follows:
4 strings
30" scale to help prevent severe neck dive, and for greater maneuverability on the Comicon floor
Fretless per the original design (and to help keep costs down)
Mahogany neck and body
Neck-through design
Jazz bass style pickups
Per the original design (and stuff in the parts draw) 2 knobs, maybe volume and blend?
Enamel red/maroon rattle can finish (Rustolium?)
I still have to order a truss rod ($16.00 at Best Bass Gear) and I'll need to figure out what to do about the lower strap lock. It seems to be some kind of spike.
We currently have a few home projects going on right now, including enclosing the car port (resulting in an enclosed, air conditioned shop area for me, yay!). So work may be slow for a few weeks, but I need to have this done by May if I want to use it this year at the Comicon. Whether or not the $100 bass challenge comes together, I'll be moving forward on this for my costume.
So anyway, current build cost:
Tuners, bridge, pickups = $37.90
wood = $24.00
I'll post progress and costs as I move forward.
Subbed!
